《智慧书·第三辑·一〇一至一五〇》第41则
Do not listen to Yourself. It is no use pleasing yourself if you do not please others, and as a rule general contempt is the punishment for self-satisfaction. The attention you pay to yourself you probably owe to others. To speak and at the same time listen to yourself cannot turn out well. If to talk to oneself when alone is folly, it must be doubly unwise to listen to oneself in the presence of others. It is a weakness of the great to talk with a recurrent "as I was saying" and "eh?" which bewilders their hearers. At every sentence they look for applause or flattery, taxing the patience of the wise. So too the pompous speak with an echo, and as their talk can only totter on with the aid of stilts, at every word they need the support of a stupid "bravo!"
注释摘要
这则格言的完整意思是：你决不能一边说话一边当自己的第一个听众。取悦自己若不能同时取悦他人，便毫无益处，而且自我欣赏通常以遭到众人轻蔑收场。你自以为在关注自己，其实你所欠自己的那份关注，本该来自别人。说话的同时欣赏自己的话，这种事没有好结果。如果独处时自言自语已属愚蠢，那么当着别人的面这样做，便是加倍的愚蠢。 西班牙文中，escucharse 同时指感官上的…